10 · 23 · 19 John Bailey presented Ordinary People at the 17th FICM Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Aranza Flores @Alvayeah The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) had the pleasure of having the former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, John Bailey, for the presentation of the film Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford. The event was attended by Daniela Michel, founder and general director of the FICM, and Alejandro Ramírez, president of the Festival. On the occasion of his visit to the FICM, there was a screening of Redford’s directorial debut which in 1981 won the Oscar for Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Script and Best Supporting Actor. "We knew that we had done a great job, but it was a surprise that it won four out of the six Oscar Prizes it was nominated for," expressed Bailey. John Bailey Ordinary People addresses the disintegration of an upper-middle-class family in Lake Forest, Illinois, caused by the death of one of the two sons in an accident, which triggered his brother’s suicide. Bailey, who participated as a cinematographer, considers that this has been one of the most important films for the team: "To those who see it for the first time, even in a different environment and after many years, you will understand the essence of everything that means and surrounds a family." In the presentation, Bailey emphasized that in the script, which was adapted by Alvin Sargent based on the homonymous novel by Judith Guest, one of the scenes that he enjoys most in the film was not written: the autumn landscape of Lake Forest, with its brown leaves, which is the initial sequence. "The biggest challenge, but also the biggest success was the script, although we did our best to adapt it," recalls Bailey. "This film is important to me, not only because it is part of the beginnings of my career, but because in spite of having been filmed many years ago, it is still current. Both young people who have seen it for the first time and older people have told me that it changed their lives," revealed John Bailey before starting the screening.
